Twin Oaks in August

An August sunset from my porch.  It is no exaggeration to state that I've seen thousands of spectacular sundowns since building our house at Twin Oaks 27 years ago.  Such a privilege for which I am grateful.

I hate August.  It is easily my least favorite month of the year.  The humidity is oppressive, often above 90%.  It is usually very hot, making me yearn for the end of summer and the coming of my favorite time of year - autumn.  Be that as it may, this August was comparatively mild and wet.  The temperatures did not reach the intense heat we experienced in the latter half of July.  It seemed we had more rainy days than dry ones, which was great for the grass and plants.

The month began with an intense thunderstorm that caused a great deal of tree damage on my property and the surrounding area.  I have seen it rain that hard many times through the years.  Likewise, many times I have seen the modest sized hail that storm produced.  But I have never seen the wind as intense as it was.  60 MPH gusts that seemed to be coming from every direction as once.  Trees were literally bending every way possible.  I spent several days with my chain saw clearing my trails and generally cleaning up the mess and I'm not completely finished yet.  We consider ourselves lucky though.  One neighbor had a huge tree fall on his fence which required a lot of clean-up and repair.  Another neighbor had the corner section of their roof blown off their house.  That required some enormous tarps to cover the gaping hole until their insurance could make estimates and proper repairs could be made.

One of the three saw tooth oaks I planted in the lower field many years ago.  Back then none of these pine trees were around, they all volunteered and, obviously, grew faster than the oak.  This was taken on the edge of my woods, facing west.

This is a typical heavy summer downpour.  We saw this scene repeatedly throughout August, which is unusual.  Although there is plenty of rain, in this case there is no wind, unlike the vicious thunderstorm that hit us in early August.  Frankly, I was too anxious to try to take of photo of that while it was happening.

One of several trees downed by the 60 MPH wind gusts of the severe thunderstorm that hit us this month.  This one did not fall along my trails so I just left it there.

I had to cut up and move this larger tree that fell.

This large tree broke up when it hit the ground, lucky adjacent to my trail and not across it.

More debris that had to be cleared from another tree.

And still more debris which I cut and piled up next to a trail.

The top of this maple tree split in the gusty winds of the storm.  There was plenty of work for my chainsaw on the property.  I had to get a ladder to clean this up.  The jury is still out as to whether or not we will keep the tree.  I would sure hate to lose it.  This one has a history.  It is actually a regrowth of an original maple that we planted over 20 years ago.  That maple died, so we thought, but after I cut it down this off-shoot came back.  So I guess it is really a branch of a maple that no longer exists.  Well, the roots are the same, I suppose.

Looking south, back toward the house along the trail we call "Pine Forest Road."  A branch of a large maple twisted and broke during the storm.  It is too far up for me to cut so I'll wait until my tree cutting guy comes this winter to take care of it.  It isn't really bothering anything.  We are so lucky there was no damage to our house and that the tree damage was not worse.

One of our many paths at Twin Oaks.  This one looking through sassafras and privet to a boxwood in the distance.

A closer look at the boxwood, one of two on our property.  My mom gave them to us when we first moved in.  This one has survived many droughts and snows.  Heavy snows of the past have caused it to open at the top as it has grown.

The Lenton Rose patch that we were watering in July certainly perked up during our wet August.  Our second boxwood stands nearby, planted at the same time as the one in the previous photo.

A Sassafras tree, which volunteered, grows along with an oak, which we planted, in our upper field.  This field used to be about twice as wide as it is today.  Over the years cedars that we planted, privet and other growth has encroached upon the open space making it seem more cozy and secluded.  As you can see, I keep a stretch of it mowed for walking purposes.

A young sassafras tree has sprouted in the upper field.  I will try to keep the overgrowth trimmed back so it won't get choked out in the years ahead.  This, of course, is part of the wonder of living in one place in the country for many years - watching the land slowly change and new growth emerge.

An odd fact about our cherry tree is that it loses its leaves during what is typically the hottest part of the year.  Compare this photo with how it looked in March.  This tree is very old and "in decline," as Jennifer says.  As you can see, it has a Virginia creeper vine growing through its branches, which is highly invasive.  We cut the vine shortly after this photo was taken.  Some "new growth" has to be halted in the overall maintenance of things.

We don't know what this stuff is.  It is a fairly regular sight in nearby, lesser kept pastures this time of year.  Jennifer says it is "some kind of weed and I don't know weeds."  No biggie.  It thrives in the summer heat and isn't horrible to behold. I don't mow the lower field after April.  This stuff comes up everywhere down there.

Whatever it is, it will die this fall and I will mow all of it down in January to start the cycle anew.

Orange bottle brush ginger blooms in August, one of many types of hedychium.

The hedychium grows on our rock terrace near the window to our den.

The reverse perspective.  Viewing the hehychium from our den window looking out at the terrace.

The Moon and Mars in conjunction directly over our house on August 8 at about 6:15 AM.  I wish I could take credit for this seemingly spectacular view of a spherical Mars so close to the Moon.  In reality it is how the image accidentally turned out when I snapped it with my slightly shaky handheld pocket camera.  Still, it looks pretty cool!

The Moon and Venus were also in close proximity in August.  Unfortunately, it was cloudy on the morning of their actual conjunction.  I took this photo of them the next morning, also at about 6:15 AM.  Facing northeast. 

Meanwhile, back on Earth, a magnificent luna moth.

A fritillary butterfly.

A much better shot of a fritillary butterfly captured by Jennifer on her iPhone.

A cabbage butterfly.

Two cabbage butterflies.

The deer love our terrace too.  They munch on the leafy vegetation and seem to have a special fondness for the tops of our cherry tomato vines.

Passion vine was prolific in August, especially with all the rain.  We didn't plant this stuff and are now battling to keep it from taking over the world.  I wish the deer considered this invasive growth a delicacy but, alas, that's not how they see it.

Passion vine produce maypops which contain the seeds (the green fruits).  We definitely want to make sure those things never "pop" on our property.

Hibiscus.

Sedum "Autumn Joy" just as its buds are beginning to change color.  It will reveal its full beauty in September.

Another type of sedum next to my rain gauge on the rock terrace.  Jennifer has planted many low growing, ground-cover type plants along the walkway.

A look at the steps on the walkway heading down toward our carport.

Rosemary.

Mexican sunflower blooms near where all our Black-eyed Susans were earlier in in the summer.

A closer look at the Mexican sunflower peddles just after a rain.

Moths love to munch on them.

Queen of the meadow in full height and bloom.  The stalks become so tall and the bloom heads so heavy that they bow toward the western sun.  Many of these have volunteered on our property through the years.

A closer look at the heavy bloom head.

Sweet autumn clematis is prolific at the southern end of our rock terrace along the edge of our woods.

A closer look at the delicate buds and white flowers.

Purslane blooms in late August.

It's a delicate looking plant with beautiful small orange blooms.

This is called Sunsparkler Firecracker, the brand name for a form of sedum -   perhaps the most over-hyped name of a plant I've come across this year.

Another sunset in August.  Big sky and beautiful color often casting a golden glow in the early evening on everything at Twin Oaks.  The cloud patterns make each one as unique as snowflakes.

In the afterglow.

Highlights:  A lot of rain.  A brutal thunderstorm.  A conjunction of the Moon and Mars over my house. Venus bright in the early morning eastern sky.  Lots of hummingbird, moth, and butterfly action.  The oppressive humidity (which is actually a "lowlight").  The katydids are still going strong but the lightning bugs have all vanished.